Behind Enemy Lines
January 3, 2005
By ANTOINE AUDOUARD
WALKING along Manhattan's 23rd Street the other day, I
noticed an ad on a bus-stop shelter for the History
Channel's new series about the French Revolution: "For Two
Hours, It Won't Kill You to Love the French," it said.
As a Parisian who recently moved to New York, I have not
personally encountered any American hostility toward me as
a French citizen. But I am amazed by the proliferation of
French-bashing in the media.
If you go on the Internet, you have a vast choice of
anti-French Web sites, some selling products (T-shirts
emblazoned with insults, for instance), others offering
long lists of hilarious "French jokes."
Of course, you could argue that the excesses of bloggers do
not paint an accurate picture of American sentiment. You
could argue, too, against reading too much into The New
York Post's references to President Jacques Chirac of
France as a "weasel." It's true that the days of "freedom
fries" are behind us and that any recent dent in French
exports is more likely the result of a weak dollar than a
boycott of French goods. (Back in the days leading up to
the war in Iraq, a friend in California called to tell me
about a local TV commercial for rotisserie-cooked chicken
that began: "Don't be a chicken like the French. Eat it.")
But the hysteria of French-bashing has given way to a more
insidious form of bias. For example, it was humbling for us
French to watch Democratic operatives desperately trying to
hide John Kerry's French relatives - who had come to be
with him at the Democratic convention - from the press. And
it was rather funny to hear the advice given by some TV
pundits to Mr. Kerry minutes before the first debate:
"Don't speak French." (He didn't, and by the way, it made
no difference.) And whether in rustic tabloid lingo or in
the more refined language of broadsheets, the typical
out-of-touch East Coast liberal is more often than not
"French speaking" or "Bordeaux drinking."
Then there are the jabs delivered by all those late-night
comedians. It has become fashionable - even commonplace -
in the American media to associate the French with things
cowardly, despicable, unfaithful, ungrateful or
foul-smelling. In addition to the (more conventional)
complaint about Gallic arrogance.
Here in the country of political correctness, where the
mainstream press treads on eggshells when talking about
race, religion, nation or ethnicity, French-bashing, it
would seem, has become politically correct.
Why the French exception? Several reasons spring to mind.
France's opposition to the war in Iraq is the first, of
course. This has infuriated the political establishment -
Republicans and Democrats alike. And during times of war,
patriotic sentiment can quickly become xenophobic. Having
cast themselves in the role of Cassandra (who was endowed
with the gift of prophecy but not with the talent of making
herself heard), the French should not be surprised by the
American Agamemnon's resentment.
To go back in history a bit, France is one of the few major
European countries to have never undergone any widespread
immigration to America. So there is no French minority to
pander to, no French lobby to placate.
Also, the French delude themselves in valorizing their
historical relationship to America: Lafayette vs.
Eisenhower, the Statue of Liberty vs. the Marshall Plan -
there is something wrong, even shocking, about comparing
France's help during America's War of Independence with the
role of America in the two World Wars.
As a French citizen, I am appalled that the French news
media, the judicial system and members of Parliament have
shown so little interest in the French role in the scandal
surrounding the United Nations' oil-for-food program.
Does that make me anti-French? The very notion of being
"against" a nationality - American, Israeli, Arab - is
repellent to me. It is one thing to disagree over political
matters or to be severely critical of another country's
policy. It is quite another to indulge in a general
_expression of contempt, or even hatred, for a society, its
history, its culture and its people.
Americans themselves are sometimes confronted with this
kind of absurd hostility abroad. Of all nationalities, they
should be the first to stay away from it. After all,
diversity and respect for other cultures are among the core
values on which America was founded - and by which
Americans thrive.
It did not kill the French to be hated for two years. But
it did us no good, and did not help Americans much, either.
So what about liking us again? For starters, just for two
hours.
Antoine Audouard is the author of"Farewell, My Only One."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/03/opinion/03audouard.html?ex=1105760488&ei=1&en=1f49f576f36f55e7
Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company
